When The Stars Align
by armoiise
Summary: Upon an invitation she got from an old acquaintance to spend her summer at his house, Mana packed her bags and left for what she had hoped to be a good vacation. But she never would have guessed what she would find herself in the middle of.
1. Prologue

**Alright lovelies, I know I said this one would be set in Ancient Egypt, but I remembered this AU I wanted to write so badly, something that came to me when I was reading a book.** **This AU is a favorite of mine, so I'll try to give it to you the best way so you'll enjoy it as much as I do.**

 **Another thing; this is something like a big project, so I don't think I can fit into a week like the previous one.**

 **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

Mana put her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun. She liked summer for a lot of reasons; blue skies, good weather, people enjoying the stress-free months of the year... but sun blinding her was not one of them.

She checked her watch. She still had ten minutes until her train arrived. To pass the time, she started to check everything in her luggages one last time. The blue one had her jeans, jackets, a raincoat and two pairs of shoes. And since there was no room for her boots, she had put two pairs of shoes for sunny days in the luggage, and was wearing her boots now. Her feet were sweating terribly but there was no other choice. Gramps had said the weather there changed frequently despite being it summer, so Mana was prepared for anything.

The rest of the bag was filled with her study and reading books. The green luggage had all of her other clothes like t-shirts, dresses, and skirts. It had been a challenge fitting all of her wardrobe in a suitcase but Mana was more stubborn than the zipper of the suitcase which did not want to close.

She had her notebook, pencil case and a few makeup supplies she owned in her purse.

She checked her watch again. Five minutes.

She was going to miss her home, her brother. It was only for three months, Mana knew but it would be the first time she would ever go far away from home, she was emotional. Yes, she had been excited to go since Gramps had first called to invite them to his house for them to spend their summer vacation, but since Mahad couldn't have a summer break from his job, Mana was going by herself.

She looked forward to this little adventure. But a part of her still wanted to stay with Mahad. She didn't want to leave him alone, but when he insisted that she should go, Mana couldn't refuse.

The crowd around her started to move to the platform, and Mana stood up. Grabbing her two luggages, she followed the people where they would board the train. Get in the cabin, drag your luggages to your seat, put them away, sit, give your ticket to the conductor so he'll check it, and finally, sit and wait until you arrive to your destination.

 _Success,_ Mana thought. The train stations were usually busy and crowded, and it had been a pain to carry two luggages that were her size everywhere but now, the tiring part of her journey was over. She got comfortable in her seat and settled on watching outside. The sky was bright now, but she doubted she could arrive there before sunset.

Mana and her family had met Solomon Muto when Mana was just a little girl when he was on one of his excavations. Her family had given him a place to stay in their house, and he would remind them how grateful he was at every chance. He had stayed there for a long while, but it had been worth the wait, for that excavation had been a turning point for him. He had become the head of one of the most important discoveries on his stay there.

Mana remembered him to be a strong-willed, determined but kind and generous man. He was smart, always busy with his studies. But he would sometimes spend time with Mahad and Mana, both of them eager to listen to his stories.

When he had to return to his own home, he had left, promising that they would see each other again. But he hadn't guessed it would happen at such a tragic event. He had returned to Mana and Mahad's side once they lost their parents. Mahad was older than eighteen at the time, so there was no need for a guardian for both of them, he had the responsibility of taking care of Mana. But Solomon still made sure that at any urgencies, they would come to him. And they had never lost touch since then.

Mana had graduated from high school this year, and for a graduation present for her Solomon had invited both her and Mahad. Unfortunately, she was the only one going.

Mana sipped the tea the service attendant had brought and closed her eyes just for a second.

When she opened them, it was dark out, and the lights of the train were alight.

"Miss. Miss. The train is closing to the platform."

Mana thanked the attendant that woke her up, still in her sleepy daze, and rubbed her eyes. She knew she hadn't gotten much sleep last night but she never thought she would sleep for that long.

A bit clumsily, she got her luggages, and walked out of the cabin. She dragged her luggages to the side of a nearby wall to not stand in the people's way and looked around for Solomon. He had said he would come and pick her-

"Mana! Mana, over here. Come, kids."

Mana heard his voice and looked where the sound came from. There he was, walking towards her smiling, with someone next to him. A tall, blond boy.

"Gramps!" Mana squeaked and jumped forward to hug the old man. He returned the gesture, laughing. "It's been so long!"

"And look at you, you've grown so much in my absence," he commented, holding her hands.

"Yet you didn't age one bit, Gramps." Her gaze averted to the teen standing behind. "Hi, I'm Mana." She held her hand forward to the boy. "Nice to meet you."

"Joey Wheeler." he answered and grabbed her hand. "The pleasure is mine, Mana. Let me get those for you." said Joey and took her luggages from her.

"Oh no, you don't have to-"

"Shh. You're the guest. I'm carrying your bags."

Mana could only smile appreciatively, and watch him head to the gates.

"Let's go home for now and you'll settle in your room. We'll catch up tomorrow when you're rested. I'm sure you're tired." Solomon said and followed the young man outside.

Mana walked beside him, and they walked through the parking lot, and to the car. On their ride to the house, Mana couldn't see much since it was dark outside, but the shining city lights coming from far away looked like the mountains were covered with fairy lights.

"How far do you live from the city, Gramps?"

"Not much, you can get there easily by car in half an hour. Though I don't see the need. There is a small town nearby, I like to go there if it's necessary."

Solomon later told her that his son and grandsons were not at the house at the moment, but they would meet her in the morning. Mana didn't mind, she was thinking of heading straight to bed.

That is, if she could ever find her room. The Muto House, no, The Muto Mansion was grand, and just standing in the middle of the entrance made her head spin.

Luckily, Joey led her to her room as he was carrying her stuff. It was on the second floor, the left hall, the second door to her right; the first one being his sister's as he told her.

"And mine is this one." he pointed at the door at the other side of the hallway. "Come get me if you need help with anything."

"Thank you Joey." she shortly said and retired to her room.

Her room was a simple one. Still bigger and more sophisticated looking than her own room but a simple one compared to rest of the house. She wasn't expecting too much, it was a guest room after all. The walls were light blue, and the big windows were covered with white lace curtains. She had a white dresser with five drawers, and a big mirror on it. A white wardrobe enough to fit five times her belongings, a desk with a study lamp on it and a comfortable chair. A light gray rug was laying under her feet. The bed was big enough to fit three people, but under the huge lump of pillows, it looked much smaller.

She didn't have the energy to inspect everything thoroughly, so Mana just put the luggages away and threw herself on the bed. A car closing in and stopping outside was heard. She heard some people chatter before she fell asleep.

 **Yay, the first chapter is done! I'll get to the character introductions and everything needed to be explained in Chapter 1, don't you worry. Thanks for once again joining me on this adventure, and hope you'll enjoy!**

 **xo**


	2. Unexpected Encounter

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

Mana woke up with the sun rays once again disrupting her in her sleep. The lace curtains weren't much of a help to keep them away from her face. She felt sore all over from sleeping in a weird position and sitting up made her back and neck hurt. Lazily she sat up and looked around.

 _Oh yeah, I slept the second I came here._

She yawned loudly and slid off the bed. There was a mirror on the door of the wardrobe, and Mana saw her reflection; eyes puffy, hair messy, and clothes crinkled. The clothes, that she wore yesterday. She groaned and grabbed the suitcase that had her clothes. She changed into a short-sleeved shirt and a skirt that passed her knees by an inch. Tying her hair into a loose ponytail, she looked around the room. As she expected, there was a white door, opening up to a bathroom. She washed her face and smiled. Today would be the day she would meet Gramps' family. She wanted to look adequate and not disappoint him for inviting her to his house.

Before she left her room, she checked what time it was from her phone. It was still early hours of the day, and there was no noise suggesting that the house folk was awake. _I must have slept earlier than everybody else_ , Mana thought and slowly opened her bedroom door. Still, silence. With slow steps, she walked out, from her bedroom, from the hallway to the staircase. She could see downstairs from where she stood.

Suddenly, someone walked out of one of the rooms downstairs and started to walk up the stairs. Mana panicked for no rational reason and turned around to hide in her room. To not alert the person she quickly tiptoed back to her room. Open the door, slide inside discreetly, close the door behind you silently. Just before Mana could have a sigh of relief, however, she realized that she wasn't in her room. This room was much bigger, and there were signs that it belonged to someone already. The undone bed, cluttered desk, clothes that were thrown over a chair-

The door opened behind her and she turned around to see a young man standing in the doorway, just as much as confused as she was.

 _He has to be Gramps' grandson. With those eyes and that hair, no doubt._

He opened his mouth to say something, but Mana was quicker. She held her hands up in a defensive way.

"I can explain." Again, he was going to say something but... "I was standing outside and looking downstairs but then someone showed up, which I now think is you, and I kind of panicked, I don't know why, and I ran to my room to hide."

"Why-"

"Then I realized I wasn't in my room. I'm not surprised because I knew it would take me a long time to memorize all the rooms, and it's only my first day here, and I think my room is on the other hallway."

"I-"

"I'm Mana by the way." Mana said with chirpiness in her voice, holding her hand out for him to shake.

He made a face that seemed like he just understood something, then grinned. "So _you're_ Mana?" He took her hand. "Yes, yes. You're definitely Mana."

"What does that suppose to mean?"

He walked into the room, setting the glass of water he had in his hand and then turned to her. "My grandfather told us that you would come visit us. You were already asleep when we came back home yesterday so we couldn't meet. But he talks a lot about his 'grandchildren that live abroad', and you act like how I pictured this 'Mana' girl."

"I'll take that as a compliment." She stopped and looked around before remembering she was still an intruder in his room. "I'll just... leave now. See you at breakfast!"

Mana quickly left the room without bothering to look at him (and not seeing that he had his hand up to maybe ask for her to stay) and sprinted to her own. She would stay inside for the rest of the morning. Instead, she decided to settle in. One by one, she filled the wardrobe with her clothes, and she put the suitcases at the empty space that left. She put the books on the desk, the study books to the right, the reading books to the left. And her diary, into the drawer of the bedside table. Lastly, she put her toothbrush into a clean cup and put it over the sink in her bathroom.

The room didn't look much like a guest room anymore with her stuff everywhere.

Someone knocked on her door, and she yelled "Come in!"

Joey opened the door, with a younger girl standing next to him. She was shorter and had long, ginger hair. "I thought you'd be awake, you crashed so early."

"Yeah, I was half asleep when you guys brought me here."

Joey smiled, and put his hand on the girl's back. "So Mana, this here is my sister Serenity." The girl waved and showed Mana a big smile. "If you can't find me to help you out, she's the next best choice."

Mana shared her smiled. "Got it."

"Anyway, we came to tell you that breakfast is ready if you're hungry."

And Mana was _hungry_.

She followed the siblings to the dining room, which she knew she will not be able to find herself, and saw Solomon sitting at the head of the table.

"Come, Mana. Sit here." he gestured the seat to his left, and Mana obeyed. She didn't know if the family members had spesific seating arrangements so she would do as she was told. "Did you get a good sleep?"

Mana's whole body was sore from sleeping like she did, but that was irrelevant. "Yup, I slept like a baby."

Joey sat at the other side of the table, the seat next to that was directly in front of her, leaving an empty seat for someone. Mana was about to ask why, before the young man she met an hour ago walked in, and sat next to her, as his eyes focused on her. Then he smiled.

But when he smiled, he just looked different. Mana remembered him looking a little more... _His cheeks weren't as chubby as they are now. Or maybe I'm just being weird. But his voice is softer too._

"You must be Mana. I'm Yugi. We couldn't greet you last night, sorry for that."

Mana looked at him, confused. "But we just-"

"Good morning." said another young man, and this time it was a voice she recognized. He sat at the empty seat in front of her, the one Joey had left and nodded at her. "I see Yugi is here. Just so you'll know Mana, _we_ met. You don't have any seeing problems, and you didn't lose it either. It happens sometimes. You met me. And that's Yugi."

"Oh, right. You're right, it _is_ confusing. I was like 'We just met and he's introducing himself to me again'. It was weird, thanks."

Solomon laughed, then patted his grandson on the back. "These two would always play tricks on people when they were younger. Apparently they're still at it."

"Old habits die hard, Gramps." said Yugi chuckling.

"Did you get the chance to meet everyone?" Solomon asked Mana, and she nodded.

"I think." There was Joey, Serenity, Yugi and the guy she met.

The guy she met?

Silly Mana. "Actually, I don't think you told me your name." she told him. He had an amused expression on his face that made Mana's heart skip a beat.

"Atem." he said.

A name that she liked, a name that would soon be one of her weakest points, a name that she would find herself saying and thinking about it over and over again.

She just didn't know it yet.

"Well, it's nice to meet you."

Their eyes locked.

"You too."

Their father was the last one coming. When they started eating, Mana was asked a lot of questions, since she was someone dear to Solomon that they have never seen before. She talked about her brother Mahad, whom they also have heard about. She talked about her studies, and how she much she was interested in history just like her brother. Their yearning for the past was the result of living with an archeologist when they were younger.

"Well, we're honored to guest such a smart, lovely lady like yourself Mana." said Aknam, "I hope you'll enjoy your time here."

"I know I will." responded Mana, her gaze slid to Atem and caught him watching her.

She would.

️

With her plate in her hand, Mana walked to the kitchen. A place where she never would have found if she hadn't followed the maids who were cleaning the table. She found Serenity washing the dishes, a sight she wasn't expecting.

"Serenity?"

The girl turned around, and smiled softly. "Mana."

"What are you doing?" Mana hadn't thought that she was a maid. Then again, they had uniforms. Serenity was in her own clothes.

"Um... washing the dishes?"

"No, I mean... please don't get me wrong. I didn't realize you guys were working here."

Serenity's smile was still warm and inviting. She set the sponge aside, then washed her hands. "We don't. Long time ago our parents worked here though. They passed away when Joey and I were very little, and since they were trusted by the Muto's, they adopted us. They're very good people Mana. I'm glad my parents worked here."

"Yes, I know that. Gramps is the head of the house, I wasn't expecting any less. But, why are you... doing this? There are people paid to these kinds of things."

It wasn't as if Mana was rich herself. She and Mahad lived in a comfortable house that was left from their parents but they didn't have any maids. The cooking and the cleaning was their job and Mana was used to doing chores herself. However, this was not Serenity's house, nor they needed her assistance.

"Because it's the least I can do. These people raised us like their own, not expecting anything in return. I can't take their generosity for granted. I can't just sit around and live a rich life when it wasn't mine in the first place. They gave us a home, and did not spare one thing. And I have to start giving it back somehow."

 _Joey is probably like that too,_ Mana thought. He had been eager to help. "I don't think they're waiting for you to return anything."

"They don't, and that's why it's important that I do so."

Mana watched Serenity as she continued to clean another plate.

 _She's so pure._

Mana rolled up her sleeves and grabbed the rag to dry the wet plate Serenity just cleaned. "I'll help you."

Serenity washed, Mana dried and put it to its place. As they worked in silence, Mana thought about how Joey had introduced himself as 'Wheeler'. It was their last names before they were adopted, probably. Losing your parents was hard, Mana knew that, having experienced it not so long ago. But losing your family name must have been hard too. She didn't blame them for using their real names. They were Muto's legally, but Wheeler's at heart.

Mana was growing accustomed to the new people around her much quicker than she thought she would.

 **Another chapter finished! Ooh, you have no idea about the real drama of this story though, we didn't even start. Hopefully next chapter.**

 **Anyways, let me know what you think and stay sweet!**

 **xo**


	3. Betrothed

**Wow wow wow! This is important.**

 **So, it's no secret that I hate that garbage bag called Téa or Anzu or whatever. But she's going to be one of the main characters of this story for plot purposes. As always, I will NOT bash her, because that's just not professional.**

 **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

Her days in the Muto's house were going smoothly, Mana would say. Everyone got along with her, she was like a part of the family. She was starting to learn where all the rooms were, at least she didn't walk into other people's rooms anymore. The days went by quickly, which was a shame because Mana was enjoying the company she had here. Her house wasn't as crowded as this, she just had her brother to talk to.

And speaking of Mahad, she didn't forget to call him constantly, telling him about Solomon, her new friends, her new room, the view she could see from her window, the good weather, what she did on her spare time, how big the house was and how she wished he could be there with her. He would say the same.

Even that night, sprawled on the bed, she flooded Mahad's phone with messages. She missed him a lot, and wanted him to know just how much.

Someone knocked on the door and opened without waiting a response from Mana. "Mana, we're having guests." It was Serenity. Mana didn't bother to turn her face to her.

"Okay."

"Grandpa Solomon was telling them about your visit here."

"Right."

"I think you should come downstairs and meet them. Because you know... he's talking about you and they're expecting to see you in person?"

Mana grumpily got off the bed, and headed for the door before Serenity blocked her path.

"What?"

"Do you want to be seen in your pajamas?"

Mana sighed a long one. "Fine, I'll put something on. I'll be down in a minute." she said and Serenity left.

Honestly, Mana didn't care if she was wearing pajamas or not, but for the sake of the household and not embarrass them with her careless attitude; Mana wore the clothing she had taken off before she put on the pajamas and ran downstairs to the living area.

She spotted three people that she hadn't met before. A man with black hair and blue eyes was talking to Aknam. Then there was this woman with long brown hair, her eyes were blue too. Lastly, a girl, seemed to be about her age. She looked just like the woman next to her (Mana assumed she was her mother), but her hair was shorter. Their eyes met, and the girl smiled to her, walking towards her.

"Mana right?"

Mana only nodded.

"Tea. It's so good to see you, really. I mean I know Serenity is here but it's almost all guys around here, I was getting bored out of my mind." she happily said, holding Mana's hand.

"Glad to meet you too." said Mana, squeezing her hand. Friendly people were always welcomed.

Mana quickly met the other two people who were Tea's parents, then retreated to the back of the room where Serenity stood alone.

"Why don't you join them?"

"You're here too Mana."

"Yeah but I don't have anything going on with them. You're family. You know them. Seems a bit rude to be escaping from your guests don't you think?" Mana said jokingly, but Serenity didn't look too amused.

"It's just... ever since the talk of the wedding first started it's been very boring. The room just gets grimmer whenever they start."

"The wedding? Who's getting married?"

Then from the other side of the room, Atem piped up. "Do we really have to have a ceremony? What are we even celebrating? An agreement between two men?"

"Here we go again..." Serenity murmured, and Mana listened to the conversation going on.

"Atem, I know this isn't going to be the best day of your life, but it's not like I'm gonna get married again. I want it to be the way I always imagined. Just let me have this please." answered Tea with a little pout on her lips. "Wearing a wedding dress should be my right."

"It just gets sadder and sadder to watch." said Joey, Mana hadn't realized he had came over next to them. "Poor Atem."

"So... Atem doesn't like... ceremonies?" she asked, and Joey shook his head.

"No, he doesn't like being forced to marriage." To Mana's surprised face, Joey started explaining. "When Tea was born, her father and Atem's father had an agreement so that their children would marry each other. They're going to marry when Tea finishes her studies. She's your age actually, so there's still at least four years but the fathers are very excited to see it happen."

"And no one except them likes this situation." Serenity added. "The room fills up with their enjoyment and everybody else's annoyance. That's why we stopped going to their house. Grandpa Solomon too."

Mana averted her gaze to the crowd sitting on the sofas. Aknam and the man were still talking, the woman listening to them intently. Yugi and Tea were whispering to each other, and Atem was sitting silently, massaging the bridge of his nose. He was under stress, clearly.

"You're right, poor Atem."

Since she didn't have a place there, Mana went back to her room. It was none of her business, nor was she interested in their 'grownup' conversations. There had been a lot of times that Mahad basically begged her to grow out of her witty and immature attitude, and to have sense of the real world. It felt too much work to Mana, she liked not having a care and just seize the moment, live the day. Maybe it was because Mahad was still looking after her. But as far as she knew, she would continue her childish antics.

In her room, she changed into her pajamas and got under the covers. Her head dipped into the soft, plushy pillow and she started to think.

There was a small part of her that was disappointed because... well, she had taking a liking to Atem. He had been kind to her all that time. A small voice in her head had tried to convince her that he even tried to flirt with her but Mana now knew that was impossible. It appeared that he was only trying to be nice to her. Which was still fine, but Mana couldn't help but want something more out of it.

Not half an hour had passed, and Mana heard Atem loudly speaking, then a door slamming shot. She jumped off the bed, and peered from the door. Atem was walking up the stairs and when he looked up, he saw her watching. His scowl formed into a worried one.

"I'm sorry Mana, did I wake you?"

Mana shook her head. "No, I wasn't sleeping." Atem nodded, and looking off, he headed to his own room. A bit hesitant, she called for him. "Atem?"

"Hm? Yes?"

"Do you, um... do you want to talk? I - I mean you don't have to. It's just that when I get angry Mahad usually makes me sit and talk to him. When someone is listening to your problems your anger fades away much quicker. And lowers the risk of you breaking another door... probably."

Atem stood and contemplated her suggestion, and they ended up sitting cross legged on her bed.

"He doesn't get it- none of them do. Dad didn't have to marry someone he didn't want to. Yugi will never have to experience that since I'm the elder. And there's no way my dad's going to force Jo to do anything. Anything remotely out of the ordinary happens to me in this house, I swear."

He had been keeping that for himself for a long time, clearly. Mana nodded for him to continue.

"See, this whole... marriage thing began when Tea was born. I was 4 at the time. My dad and hers were close and they made this stupid deal that basically forbid us to make our own choices. I wasn't aware of anything and didn't take it seriously, it didn't bother me. I forgot it even.

"When I was in middle school, I didn't understand girls at all. They were too confusing. I only got along with Tea and Serenity. I really liked both of their company. So I was fine with marrying Tea. I thought that I might as well marry a friend rather than a girl I'm not familiar with.

"Then in high school, when I finally started to see girls in a different way, I realized I wasn't allowed to fall in love. Because I would end up with Tea anyway. Since then I try to convince my father otherwise but I'm not making any progress, as you can see. I still have a few years because they want Tea to finish school first but they're already at planning the wedding."

Mana thought for a while, as Atem still had a few things to say. "I just hate being controlled like that."

"What does Tea think about this?"

"We don't talk about it. I try not to. Imagine planning your wedding with your brother, Mana. Would you marry Mahad?"

"No, uh, gross!"

"See?" Atem sighed, and laid on his back. "I'm not mad at Tea, really. She's right in her own way. I know she likes those romantical stuff, she deserves a good wedding ceremony. I just wish she would have it with someone that really loves her. But it's not her decision to make either."

After staying silent and listening to Atem's rant, Mana laid next to him on her side, facing him. He turned to her too.

"I think you're wrong." Mana said, "You said that you weren't allowed to fall in love. That's not true. You had time, Atem. You're 4 years older than us, right? That means you had all the time in the world to fall in love, go on dates or have your first kiss. You know, milestones."

"Are you trying to make me regret the way I spent my teenage years? Because if so, you're really good at this."

"No! I'm trying to say you still have time. You're older than Tea, and you still have years to experience those kinds of things. Much more if you're lucky and she's going to medical school." she said jokingly. It did not cheer him up.

"So... I should go out there and... find someone to... fall in love with? Only to eventually break up with them because I'll get married? I'm almost engaged Mana."

Mana sighed and sat up, looking down on him as his head was still on the covers. "Don't look at it like that. Just because it's going to end one day, doesn't mean you shouldn't try it. If that had been the case, people wouldn't do anything. Also, most relationships don't even last a year, so-"

"And what if I fall in love with the woman of my dreams? Tea finishes school, and I'm right there, having to marry Tea, but not wanting to break up with my girlfriend. What do I do then?"

"Then..." Mana thought about it for a long time, staring off into the distance before answering. "Then you hold your girl's hand, and you run. So fast, so far."

"I run?" Atem sat up too, meeting her eyes. "What if I don't have the luxury to run away?"

"What would happen if you did?"

"I don't want to. I don't want to be separated from my family, I don't want to make a choice. If I get married, I want to be able to visit them, not hide from them. I want them to love my wife just as much as I do. None of the things that are going on in my life are in my favor right now. I really don't know what to do."

His forehead crinkled as he closed his eyes. Yes, he was stressed. Mana put her hands on his head to ease the tension by massaging his temples. "Don't worry too much. In the end, everything will turn out fine. Things seem a bit confusing right now, and you're overwhelmed by them, I understand you."

Atem's eyes snapped open, and he stared at Mana, who quickly retracted her hands. "I'm sorry. When Mahad does it, it relaxes me so I thought-"

"It actually does. Would you mind..."

Mana smiled and nodded, gently tugging Atem's head to lower to her lap. She massaged his temple, his scalp. He seemed visibly relaxed, Mana took proud in it. She knew a little talk could solve things. At least, for now.

All the while, she got more and more used to having him under her touch.

All the while she wrapped him more and more around her finger.

 **I'm saying it again. The way the plot is going, it looks like I'm about to bash Tea, but no. That is not what I'm going for. Just enjoy the Vaseshipping I'm putting out for ya.**

 **xo**


	4. Stormy Sunday

**Did ya miss this story? I know I did. Also don't hold me accountable for the spelling and grammar errors I stayed up all night to post this today. :(**

 **Hay ho, hay ho, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

 **~week 3~**

There were many places for Mana to explore in the gardens, but she liked the secluded area the trees hid much better. It was quiet, despite the rumblings that were going on in the house. Mana didn't like being involved with anything remotely dramatic and yet this family was nothing but.

She looked up. Usually she would see the bright blue sky right about now. But today, the sky was cloudy, and Mana had to make sure she didn't get her stuff wet. Reading and studying in the garden where it was refreshing and serene was much better than being cooped up inside, and even now, with the risk of getting herself and her books wet she was still sitting under a tree.

When the rain comes she would run inside. But for now, it was okay.

Having checked the weather, Mana looked back down to her book so she could continue, but soft footsteps of someone was heard and she got distracted. She spun her head to see Atem coming her way. He waved at her, and Mana did the same.

"Hey. Serenity told me you were here. Not disturbing you, am I?" he asked gently as he walked towards her.

"No." Mana said simply and put her book down to stand up. "It's not really a fun read anyway. Just some book I _have_ to read."

Atem stood in front of her, slightly leaning to side to look at the cover of the book that Mana left on the ground. "Not a fan of classics, huh?"

She shook her head. "Nope! I like action - romance that takes place in the modern world, or something like that... I don't know, feels more realistic to me."

Shaking his head, Atem smiled. "I disagree with you on that one, but now is not the time to discuss on that matter." He raised his hand to the back of his neck, the other in his pocket. "I need some stuff I need to get done downtown, and I was wondering if you would want to come with me. After I'm finished we could hang out... I mean, I could show you around..."

"Downtown, you say?" Mana repeated thoughtfully. She definitely wanted to go with Atem. Especially when they would be on their own.

There was no denying she kind of liked him. But there was no depth to it; after all, Atem was already betrothed to another, and he showed no interest in her like that as far as Mana knew so she was careful not to fall for him.

Besides, she lived miles away from him. In any case, he could only be a summer romance for her. Mana tried to look at the bright side of things. Now, she could have a really good friend, knowing that she's not allowed to flirt with him.

"Well, if you don't want to that's alright. We could go some other time. Or Jo and Serenity can take you there." Atem piped up after her silence.

"No, no, I want to!" Realizing she had overreacted, Mana cleared her throat. "That would be nice, thank you. Do you mind if I go and grab a jacket?"

Atem shook his head. "I'm waiting in the car."

Mana quickly gathered her things that were scattered on the grass and rushed to the kitchen door that was already open. Serenity was sitting on the table, sipping on her tea before Mana burst in and scared her. She sat her cup down stared at Mana. "Mana, goodness! You scared me. What's the matter? Did the rain start?"

"No, I'm just-"

"By the way, Atem was looking for you, did you talk to him?"

"Yes, we're leaving now. If gramps asks, I'm out with him."

With that, she was gone, leaving a confused Serenity behind her.

️

The car ride was relatively silent. Mana just enjoyed the view that she had missed when she first came here. In the daylight, the place where Muto's lived was beautiful. Mana was almost jealous.

Aside from watching the outside, Mana also thought about the gentleman that sat next to him. Even sitting close to him seemed to make her blush.

Mana tried her best not to actually develop feelings for Atem. An unrequited summer crush? Sure, she could work with that as it was harmless. But she couldn't handle anything more than that.

Tea was extremely friendly to her, she visited Mana as much as she could to get to know her. And while Tea confirmed that she and Atem were not in love, it still felt wrong.

Suddenly she was distracted from her thoughts by his voice. "Are you feeling good?" Atem asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"The road is bumpy ahead, we're going to be shaken a little. Tell me if you start feeling nauseous."

"Okay, will do."

He smiled awkwardly. "Yugi gets motion sickness a lot, so I'm used to it by now. That's why he doesn't drive long distances."

"Well, maybe if your house wasn't on top of a mountain you wouldn't be having this issue." Mana retorted.

Atem chuckled at her. "It's hardly called a hill, Mana."

Their banter ceased after that, and Mana focused on the view rather than thinking about Atem.

️

This "downtown" Mana kept hearing about was just like how she imagined it. Apartments, motels, local businesses, diners, tourist attractions... they even had a carnival set up. Atem informed her that it doesn't come here that often, and that her timing was on point. Not for today though; the town's people were waiting for the rain to pour.

Tapping her foot as she sat on the bench, Mana had been looking through her photos, waiting for Atem to come out of the electronics store. It had been half an hour since he pulled over there, and Mana was bored of sitting in the car. She couldn't complain since she came with him, knowing that he had chores to do first.

Luckily for her though, right then Atem walked out, saying his goodbyes to the store owner. Then he saw Mana waiting for him in front of the store. "I'm sorry it took so long, Mana." He walked to the car, and got in.

"What did you do?" she asked after following him inside.

"Father's phone needed a battery change and he made _me_ do it. It's actually pretty old so the guy there spent a good twenty minutes just looking for the battery. But it's done now, and I'm all yours." The words left his mouth, and Mana watched as his ears started to go red. "I meant- I'm... uh, free now."

Mana's lips formed a small smile, and she tried to hide the rosy tint on her cheeks by looking down. "G-great."

Atem cleared his throat to end the awkward conversation. "Hm... is there somewhere you want to go?"

Shaking her head, Mana raised her head back up. "I don't know anything about this place. I guess you just have to show me around."

"I would-"

His words were interrupted by a thunder.

"...love to." he said, his face falling when the rain drops started lightly hitting the front window.

Mana had the opposite reaction. "Atem, this is amazing! I love walking around in the rain! Let's go!" She moved to open the door, but Atem rested his hand on her arm.

"No, wait. Storms here get crazy after just a few minutes. If you don't want to get blown away by the wind, I suggest you stay inside."

She looked a tad bit disappointed, but it wasn't as if she could control the weather!

"Hey, don't frown." Without giving it any thought Atem gently touched his fingers to her chin. "We can still walk around. Well, actually no, we won't be walking, but..." He started the engine and drove in a slow pace. "We can just look around in the car. So don't feel bad, alright? This is not the last time we'll come here."

He was so kind, so thoughtful, Mana didn't have the heart to tell him she wasn't even sad. She had just tried the think of something else to do and was just about to propose the same idea.

"If you say so..." she responded with a shaky voice, and got awarded with his 'you can trust me' smile where he furrowed his eyebrows. Every one of his smiles were great actually. He had a 'thank you, I appreciate this' smile, a 'well, this is awkward' smile, and another one. Mana hadn't named that one yet, simply because she didn't know the meaning behind it. But he looked charming while doing it.

And so, Atem leisurely drove the car on the streets of the not-so-big town while Mana tried her best to concentrate on outside. Surely enough, what Atem said had happened and it was pouring like crazy. The howling wind shook the car a little, and the drops hit the car like a bullet.

After the short ride, they stopped at the cliff that was turned into a sightseeing place. You could stand at the edge of the railings and look over at the river below. They wouldn't be able to do that in the car, but it was still a sight to behold even from where they were sitting.

He turned to her. "You know, I haven't eaten since breakfast. How about you and I have an early dinner?"

"I didn't have lunch either. That sounds... really enticing right now." Mana said grinning.

"Then wait for me here, I'll be back as quickly as I can." he said and opened the door. The wind that came in messed with her hair, and she got the chills. "If I don't come back in twenty minutes, leave me. I would probably be thrown to the next town over by the storm!" Atem yelled and shut the door closed, leaving a giggly Mana behind him.

He was charming alright.

Her smile faltered, and she sighed. What she wouldn't give to have a chance with him. She didn't know if it would work either. She wanted to flirt with him, wanted to see how it would go. And there was actually nothing stopping her, but she wouldn't be selfish.

Atem came back earlier than he said to Mana, with his jacket balled up in his arms, his shirt slightly wet.

Mana leaned over to his side of the car and opened the door for him. "Come in, come in! Quickly!"

In seconds he was inside and breathing rapidly. "I hate the weather here, so much."

Mana stared at his jacket. "Why did you take your jacket off? Are you trying to get sick?" she scolded him.

"No, I didn't want our food to get wet." he said, and removed the jacket around the plactic bag. Inside, there were two neatly wrapped sandwiches. "I got yours with chicken. I remembered that you ate hamburger with chicken, last week when we had that barbecue. Or am I wrong? You can have mine if you'd like?"

Blush rose to her face again. "This is perfect, thank you." The fact that he even paid attention to that showed how much he cared for his close friends.

Either that or he knew how to turn Mana on. After all, there was a possibility that he was doing this on purpose.

 _No! Get it together Mana._ "You found an open diner?"

"Yeah. They get the best number of customers on days like these. Storms happen often during winter and this place is like a shelter."

"Lucky us." Mana murmured and unwrapped the sandwich to bite and finally have something in her stomach.

While they ate and had a pleasant chitchat, Mana realized that intentionally or not, the vibe they had felt romantic to her. Almost felt like a date. They had a great view of a wide and green forest, rain created a melody when it hit the windows that Mana could listen to forever, her and Atem never ran out of things to talk about.

He told her about how much he actually liked reading classics. Some of them flowed slowly and some of them didn't catch everyone's interest but all of them taught a lesson and helped shape one's personality and demeanor. Mana didn't disagree but it wouldn't change how she viewed things.

They talked about families, friends, the future. Their favorite things to do, go to places when they feel down, most embarrassing memories they could remember, places they wanted to see...

The sky went dark faster because of the clouds covering the sky and they didn't notice it until they could barely see each other. And then it was time to go back home. Mana was really disappointed this time until Atem promised they would come here again.

Since it was dark out and the roads were slippery, Mana didn't talk so that Atem could focus on the road. She settled on watching the outside once more, until the soft rocking of the car and the sound of the rain lulled her to sleep.

️

The rain had slowed down when they reached the house, and Atem only noticed then that Mana was asleep. He smiled softly and touched her shoulder.

"Mana. We're here." he whispered as he gave her shoulder a slight shake. "Come on. I'm sure your bed will be much more comfortable than the car seat."

She moaned and raised her head from the window, mumbling something Atem couldn't really understand. He just chuckled at her, and got out of the car to open her side. Reaching his arm for her to take and hold onto, Atem helped her get out of the car. Mana clung to his arm and leaned her body to him. Her eyes were closed and her head was on his shoulder as he leaded her to the door. She let him go when he took out his keys though. How much comfortable to lean her body to his might be, she didn't want to be seen like that in the house.

When they entered, Mana headed straight for the stairs to get to her room and crawl under the sheets, but a grumbled noise made her stop in her tracks. It was coming from the dining room. If she recalled correctly, it was Tea's father.

She looked over and saw Atem standing in the doorway of the room, his shoulders slouched. He had his back towards her but she could guess how his face looked too.

"Finally, you're back, son. Just in time, we just sat down to have dinner. Go change and then join us." He was very demanding, even more than Atem's own father.

"Oh, sorry. I must have forgot you were coming tonight. I already ate, so you can all enjoy your meal. Don't wait for me, I'm tired of driving, I'll just head to bed." he said and turned around, seeing Mana watching him. "Let's go upstairs."

Mana silently nodded, and walked upstairs with him. Before heading to his room Atem looked at her and smiled. "Today was fun, Mana. Thanks for coming along with me. Good night."

He turned around, before Mana held his arm and stopped him. "Wait, Atem. I'm..."

"Hm?"

Mana ducked her down. "I'm sorry. You would have arrived way early if I hadn't come. It waisted your time and since we couldn't stay outside you drove all day. It's kind of my fault. Sorry for making you do that." she said while looking at their feet.

Atem smiled again (he was amazed at how many times she had made him smile today) and put his hands on her shoulders. "Mana, you didn't make me do anything, I asked you to come with me. And to be honest, I'm glad that I had dinner with _you_ instead. I get bored of the dinners we have here, especially with Tea's father. I like Tea, but her father is a pain. But with you it was much better. So really, thank you for spending some of your time with me."

In her hazy daze Mana grinned. "My pleasure." she said bowing her head, then turned on her heel and went towards her room. "And good night to you too!" she called out.

Everything she did before getting into her bed was a blur, but a thought passed her mind just before she fell asleep again.

 _Did we just went on a first date?_

 **Wow, I remember starting writing and publishing two chapters in a day. And look at me now. Anyways, a cute potential first date. :3**

 **Stay sweet**

 **xo**


	5. Philophobia

**Let's bring this fic back to life!!**

Clutching the edge of the curtain in her trembling fingers and closing it with a swoosh, Mana scooted away from the window in an attempt to surround herself with people. She turned around, and concentrated on her friends' faces.

"It says here that the storms are gonna end in a few days." Joey murmured, when the website finally downloaded, and he skimmed through the little chart that showed the weather. "It's been a while since we had this much rain, right?"

"Yes, I expected it to last just one or two days." said Atem with a quiet voice, his eyes followed the lines of the book he was reading. "But rainy weather has an effect on me, I feel encouraged to read. I guess that's something."

"But we're stuck in here! It's been so long since I last saw sunlight." Serenity slumped next to her brother. "So depressing!" Her newly planted flowers that she took care of so delicately were not getting enough sunlight. What they _have_ been getting was too much water than the necessary amount. She was also worried about them.

Between their little conversation, Mana couldn't help but yawn loudly, immediately forgetting she was around people. She felt eyes on her, and sighed. "Sorry, didn't mean to."

"Wow, Mana. Didn't realize we were that boring." Joey jokingly said.

"No no, you're not. I'm tired. Must be related to the lack of sunlight." Mana corrected him, pointing towards Serenity.

"I'm tired too. I guess it would be better if I went to bed. It's getting really late." said Serenity and stood up. This was nothing new, Serenity had a strict sleep schedule. She owed her smooth, glowing skin and hair to that.

"It is? It's really hard to tell." Atem checked his wristwatch, it was nine o'clock. If you asked him, it was _too early_ , even, but it was Serenity. This was the norm for her standards. "Good night."

"Good night!" Yugi cheerily repeated from where he had crouched (his presence long forgotten), causing Mana to flinch.

"My god, Yugi! You scared me." She felt a sinking feeling in her chest as she glared at him. He didn't deserve to be yelled at, though he would be receiving it. "Make noise a little, I thought you were in your room." She really didn't mean to snap at him, but the little jumpscare added to the paranoia that she already had irked her.

He just smiled at her, and returned to checking Joey's old comic books.

Mana felt really bad then. _Oh, that's right, he was going to help Joey clean out his drawers. My bad._

Joey waved at her sister, then turned to the others. "Hey, not to sound like I'm kicking you guys out or anything but..." A yawn interrupted his sentence, "M'gonna sleep too."

"Wait, you're sleeping? This early? You?" Yugi asked, putting Joey's old textbooks aside.

"There's literally nothin' to do though! Satellite is gone, the internet just gave up on trying to download the new episode of my show-" he said, throwing his phone on the bed. "If I sleep now, tomorrow will come quicker. There, that's a quick life hack for ya." Joey added, playfully winking at Mana who forced a soft giggle and a somewhat friendly smile in response.

Yugi closed the drawer and stood up from where he had been crouching, then helped Mana get up off the floor as well. "Good night to you too, then."

"Or..." Mana trailed off, her eyes scanning his room for something to stall him, to win some time. _Anything! Please!_ "...we could play a board game or something, if you're that bored." Her gaze landed on Joey's old video games and magazines. Yugi had stacked them on top of each other at the far corner of the room. A few board games had taken their place right next to them. "Very old school, don't you think?" she said, trying to relate to Joey, as she sounded as girly and cheery as she could.

Mana smiled prettily at Joey, hoping his brotherly side would take action and that he wouldn't be able to resist her. Though he just shrugged. "I wouldn't waste my time with them. But you can have 'em if you want."

Softly sighing, with the smile she didn't drop, Mana crossed the room and picked up the box on the top, not even a giving it a glance. Instead, she chose to take a peak at Atem, only to find him watching her with empty eyes and lips pressed into a thin line. It was the first time Mana didn't like the expression on his face, other than the night he had opened his heart to her.

But that was a sad one. This one was judging and cold. Atem not looking at her warmly was a foreign concept to Mana. She didn't like it at all. So she looked away quickly, and followed Serenity out of the room as she walked out. Joey's soft "good night" reached her ears, Mana merely acknowledged it, just waving at him.

 _What was that about?_ was all she could think of. _What did I do?_

Her lifelong phobia forgotten as she thought about the day and what she might have done, Mana was already in her room. She noticed she was all alone in the darkness, standing in the middle. Her worry grew, this unnamed but sinking feeling made her nauseous. Was it the dark? The thunder? Atem?

Mana placed the box on the table and turned the lamp on. She slowly got out of her clothes and into her pajamas, her eyes frantically checking outside the window. It wasn't so bad when she knew it was coming.

Finally, she climbed the bed and wore her bed socks. Usually this would be her favorite part of the day, for she loved being bundled up in soft pajamas and falling asleep, but not right now. Not when an unexpected clap of thunder could make her soul jump out of her body.

She had tried _everything_ in the past few days. A warm cup of milk, ear plugs, soft music, combing her hair (because in this situation she would go to Mahad and he would softly caress her hair until she fell asleep and this was the closest thing to it)... but no. Every night she tucked herself in, pressed her animal plushie to her chest and tightly closed her eyes, just waiting and waiting. But the sky was awake, so to say, and so Mana was awake.

A whine of frustration escaped her lips, she was sick of this. Mana was _tired_. Tired because she couldn't get a decent sleep, angry because she was a coward, anxious because Atem's glare didn't sit well with her.

It was already hard to fall asleep as it is, now his cold stare would haunt her dreams, instead of his warm and inviting amethyst pools.

️️️

Atem's eyes were drooping, once he finally decided to close the book. It had been a long day of reading for him, which was good. He didn't want to fall behind on his reading list.

He stood up from the chair, stretching his arms and legs, cracking his knuckles and neck.

"About time..." murmured Joey in his half awake, half asleep state. He had sprawled on his bed, apparently not bothered to go to sleep with his day outfit on. "Turn off the lights..." he said, the rest of his sentence muffled by the pillow, Atem grinned.

"Sure. Good night buddy." He picked up his book and walked lightly on his feet to make as little sound as possible.

"Mhm."

Carefully closing the door behind him, he stepped out of the room. The hallway was dark, except the faint light coming from underneath Mana's door. He took notice of her shadow moving side to side, what was she doing still awake?

He bit his lip, contemplating whether to talk to her or just drop it.

Did he want to talk to her? Yes, obviously.

But what if she didn't want to talk to him? This whole day she had been pretty clear with how she felt.

Since they were pretty much alone in the house, him, Jo, Yugi, Mana and Serenity had been spending a lot of time together; most of the time they were all in the same room. And Mana had been avoiding him. Or, at least, that's what Atem felt like. Sitting away from him on purpose, giving her attention to anything and everyone besides him and- what was that thing with Jo anyway? Seriously, what was that?! Batting her eyelashes and pouting all cute, and for what? Board games? Like he would fall for that!

Atem leaned on the wall behind him, watching her shadow move still.

He couldn't think of a single thing that he did to her, though. Why was she so distant? So quiet, and so not like Mana? In the past month that he had gotten to know her, so far this was the version of Mana that he liked the least.

He gritted his teeth, S _he's not that off looking when it comes to Yugi, though._

Out of nowhere, her soft cry and a thump prompted him to his feet, he jumped and knocked on her door without thinking.

He only had a milisecond to regret what he had done before Mana opened the door at lightning speed.

"Hey." he said, maintaining his cold behavior. Though he supposed it didn't matter now, since he had come to her door at this ungodly hour.

"...Hi." Mana averted her eyes, avoiding his gaze.

And she didn't say anything else! Just standing in front of him, waiting for him to talk with her mouth glued shut. Atem was so frustrated with her, why was she so hard to talk to? Why was she doing this to him?

"Are you doing good? I thought you would be sleeping right about now." There was worry in his voice, Atem let that slide. Mana was too ignorant to even notice it, probably.

"I... can't." she shortly told him, still looking at her slippers, instead of him. "But I'm fine, really."

"Why can't you? Are you not feeling well?" This time he completely dropped the act, just wanting to make sure Mana was indeed fine.

"I'm feeling okay." Mana insisted, "It's a long story, I don't want to bother you with it."

"You won't."

Mana finally properly looked at him, searching his eyes for something, then moved away from the door. He let himself in and closed the door behind him.

The dim lighting was easy on his tired eyes, he appreciated that.

"So you can't sleep? Why is that?" he asked, studying her room. Atem respected her privacy, this was only the second time he had come in here. Sure he saw it when he walked past, or came to ask her something but standing inside was different.

The whole room smelled like Mana, he liked it. This was not shampoo or perfume, otherwise he would've known. This was her own scent, that he couldn't get enough of.

This fresh, aquatic and floral scent would haunt him anywhere; whenever Mana walked past him, whenever he saw something that reminded him of her. And Atem happened to like it. Her room was the best place he could ever be at the moment, because of that.

He turned to Mana, she was sitting on her bed, covering herself with her blanket. "I'm... kind of... you're going to make fun of me." Mana said in an embarrassed way, hiding her face with her small hands.

Atem sighed, a little hurt that Mana could even think he would judge her. But maybe that's why she was being distant. He could have unintentionally said or done something that bothered her.

"When have I ever made fun of you for anything?" He made his way over to her bed and sat at the edge. "We're friends, right? If anything, I want to help you."

Mana lowered her hands, and shifted in bed. She got into sleeping position, not bothered by his presence on her bed. It was alright. Instinctively, Atem grabbed her blanket and properly covered her with it.

Mana's eyes bore into whatever was in front of her, she wouldn't look at him as she talked. "I don't like being alone..." Her whispered words slowly reached him. "When there's a thunderstorm."

Her quiet voice sent Atem to the past, he remembered doing this before.

" _I don't like being alone." the small girl told him. Her knees tucked under her chin and eyes set resolutely towards outside at the night sky._

 _Though he expected her to, she wouldn't cry. Maybe she_ had _been, and only just stopped now that he was there._

 _"You're not alone. Jo is still with you, he will protect you from anything. So will Yugi and I. And my dad. And, this house is way more crowded than your old one, it's impossible to be alone!" Atem listed, then realized what he had actually said. "I- I didn't mean that to sound like it did."_

 _To his luck, Serenity was even younger than him, she didn't think too much on his words. Or she just didn't care. One or the other._

 _"I_ am _alone."_ _she said, her timid voice made his heart clench. "Mommy didn't prepare my dinner with love tonight. Daddy didn't kiss me goodnight. Joey didn't read me a story." Her doe eyes watered, she ducked her head. "How am I gonna sleep? I never slept anywhere other than home."_

 _Atem put his hand on her head, softly petting her. "Jo is going through a hard time too, just like you are." he softly said. There wasn't much he could say, he wasn't the best at condoling people, Atem found out_ _._

 _He looked over her shoulder; a book caught his eye, on her nightstand. "Would you like it if_ I _read you something?"_

 _Serenity stayed silent but got into her new bed anyway, waiting for him. This made him smile. Atem believed that if Serenity had a good first night in their house, the rest of her days would be easier._

 _He picked up the book and continued from the part whoever read the last. Though this reading session didn't last long, Serenity was already tired from moving her belongings to her new room, both mentally and physically._

 _Before he placed the book and stood up, Atem softly kissed her forehead and said, "I'll make sure that Auntie Reina puts special care and love to your breakfast tomorrow, okay?"_

 _She mumbled a soft "Okay."._

"I know, it's ridiculous. It's a thing from my childhood. I can't get over it." Mana suddenly said, bringing him back from his memories. He quickly shook his head.

"Uh, no no. I was thinking of something. Wasn't about you. Anyway... I never would've guessed that you would be afraid of thunder. You seemed happy about the rain the other day."

"I'm not afraid!" Mana yelped before continuing with a much shyer voice. "And I do like rainy weather. I just don't like being alone when there's a thunderstorm outside."

This got Atem thinking. If this was a childhood thing, then Mana probably had a solution to her reoccurring problem. "What do you usually do?"

"Force my brother to spend every single second with me until I fall asleep." she told him, smiling innocently as one could. "He doesn't mind."

"I'm sure he doesn't." Atem told her as he shifted his sitting position a little. A part of him was holding him back from being too comfortable. This was her room and her bed, after all. A private place. He had to behave properly to not disturb her.

Even so, he couldn't help but lift his hand, slowly touching his fingers to her forehead before petting down her hair.

Mana then looked at him, seemingly not horrified (it was a good sign), but surprised. She didn't move her head, or remove his hand; instead Mana closed her eyes and let him soothe her.

The possibility of Mana thinking that this was weird came to Atem shortly after. He lifted his hand just an inch. "Guess I should've asked you first." he said, laughing awkwardly and hating the sound.

"I like it." Mana whispered, "Mahad does it too."

"Then..."

Atem didn't speak without thinking. Never in his life. He repeated his words in his mind to make sure that they made sense; contemplated if it was the right thing to say at the moment. Sometimes his judgement failed him, sometimes the receiver didn't truly understand what he meant; but he always spoke carefully. Same went for his actions. He didn't want to live with regret, he would give his decision a second thought before acting it out.

Tonight, it was different. Maybe not 'tonight', but just at that moment. Whatever he felt like saying, he just said it.

"I could... stay here if you want. Until you sleep of course. If it would make you feel better..."

Mana's tired eyes stared at him.

It could've been because she was restless, because she was desperate, _or_ _because Joey is already asleep_ , he thought; but she agreed by nodding her head and scooting to the side to make room for him.

She expected him to lay down next to her? Forcing himself to believe that it would be rude to reject her, Atem leaned back and turned so he could rest his back against the headboard. He didn't get under the covers, or put his head down on the pillow. For sure we would fall asleep like that.

He rested his hand on her head again, asking "Is this really okay?"

Mana answered by moving closer to him until her head bumped against his lower waist. And with Mana stuck to him, Atem shifted again so they could both lay down without disturbing each other. But it was alright. His head wasn't on the pillow, he was laying on the covers, ready to go.

The second he was sure that Mana was asleep, he was bolting out of there, he told himself. But his tired eyes betrayed him.

He woke up with the worst back and neck pain the next day. His eyes fluttered open, his body not being able to take how painful the position he slept in was. Legs almost fully out of the bed, one arm draped over the bed and the other under Mana, his neck pressed against the headboard...

With much force Atem was able get himself out of her bed, standing as still as possible to not groan at the ache.

At least Mana was sleeping peacefully, so it hadn't been for nothing. And while he still had the chance when she was sleeping -when everyone was still sleeping- he quietly left her room and headed to his own.

️️️

 _Would I be asking for too much if I ask him?_ Mana thought, sitting on her bed the that night. She had slept like a baby last night, an apocalypse could happen just outside her window and Mana would still be able to sleep if Atem was there. Not specifically him, but the fact that it _was_ him made it better.

She grinned sheepishly, hiding her face in her hands.

Atem caressed her hair while she slept! It made her feel giddy, she couldn't stop smiling whenever she remembered. It went against her rule of not lifting her hopes up but how could she not think about it?

Then, once again, someone knocked on her door. Mana's face lit up but she quickly put on the most irresistible face she could muster. Atem wouldn't stay with her if he saw that she doing fine.

"Come in."

The door opened but it was Serenity this time, her eyes scanned the room. She had her hair up in a ponytail. Her yellow pajamas looked too cute, and the pillow she had under her arm didn't go by unnoticed. "Okay she's good." she said turning her head.

Mana tilted her head, wondering who was standing on the other side. Serenity opened the door wider, allowing Joey, Yugi and Atem in as well.

Oh. It was a-

"Slumber party time!" Joey cheered, throwing the bundled up comforter he had in his arms on the floor. "I hope you have room for extra four people."

She watched as Yugi knelt down and started helping Joey make a comfy bed for tonight, and nodded enthusiastically when Serenity asked if she could sleep next to her on the bed.

It wasn't a long night, they had come here just to sleep and that was fine. They were going to sleep on the floor to only be next to her and not leave her alone when they could be sleeping in the warm beds, the knowing wink Atem sent her when he caught her looking at him proved that.

She mouthed a silent 'thank you', whatever she would do without him?

He nodded indiscreetly, his soft "Any time." wasn't heard by anyone, but it meant the world to Mana.


End file.
